


new kids in town

by TrasBen



Series: adoption is cool too [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Big Brother Papyrus (Undertale), Found Family, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Whoop Whoop, adult edge and red are very confused, and a, baby red, baby sans, but only edge jr., fell-verse bullshit, he might be, papyrus is fine with this, sans thinks he's loosing his mind, teenage edge, we got a
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23651776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrasBen/pseuds/TrasBen
Summary: Sans thought he'd seen everything the universe can really throw at him by now. He was wrong.
Relationships: Kustard, Sans/Sans (Undertale), Spicykustard - Relationship
Series: adoption is cool too [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708672
Comments: 24
Kudos: 142





	new kids in town

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nilchance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nilchance/gifts).
  * Inspired by [ain't this the life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12319578) by [nilchance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nilchance/pseuds/nilchance). 



Sans genuinely thinks he's lost it when he sees the smaller version of Edge sitting on his couch, a bundle of cloth held tightly in his arms. His mind's usual anxious ramblings pull into a full stop when he enters his house. Fuck, Sans' brain should have been wearing a seat belt, because it feels like his consciousness just got thrown out of his skull with how fast his thoughts crashed.

Papyrus' usual clattering with pots and pans can be heard from the kitchen, a stark contrast to the _very_ unusual appearance of a little shit that's curled up on Sans' couch, glaring at him. He's almost an exact copy of Edge, if Edge was about two and half feet shorter and for some reason preferred to dress in dirty, too-small rags. The kid looks exactly him. Younger, with less scars, but it's so spot on Sans is tempted to ask where the hell Red is to pick up his brat.

_Red._

Sans cringes. There's a lot of thoughts he's having right now, conclusions he's jumping to, that he doesn't like very much. Red would probably punch Sans in the gut if Sans had one and if the bastard was here to listen to what Sans is thinking. Or shank him. With Red's record, the second seems more likely.

He ends up stuck like a dear in the headlights, startled into a staring contest with the kid on his couch. The kid that looks like Edge. If Sans remembers anything from raising Papyrus, it's that this kid must be around twelve or thirteen. Around the time he'd started getting tall and gangly - this kid's limbs sure do look the part of a Papyrus just starting to hit his growth spurt.

"Sans!" Sans jumps, his soul nearly leaving his body, when Papyrus walks into the living room where Sans has been stuck for the past few minutes. His brother's gloved hands rest on his hips, expression stern. "Close the door! You might as well just let that annoying dog in at this point. And say hello to our guest!" 

The kid's eye lights are trained on Papyrus' back, holding that sack of cloth closer to his chest defensively as he shifts to press himself further into the couch. Sans nearly jitters apart as he closes the door behind with a small kick, unwilling to turn his back on this new development. Their 'guest' doesn't look very enthused to be introduced to Sans, and Sans can't really say that he doesn't share the sentiment.

"H-Hey." Sans curses the way his voice cracks. "What's up, Kid. You roll around in mud or something? Weird. I'm... uh... Sans."

The kid's eye lights _jump_ from Papyrus' back to Sans. Those little pips of light travel over him once again, assessing him in the same way Sans has seen Edge look a food vendor up and down before buying something. Looking for danger. It hurts a little to be regarded with caution by such a familiar face, but it isn't like he hasn't been through this song and dance before. At least this shorter version of Edge isn't threatening to dust him over a misunderstanding.

(A misunderstanding that he caused and didn't really regret, but that's besides the point.)

"Papyrus." The kid grunts. Sans' grin tenses. He knew that, but it's different to hear it from the kid's mouth. What happened? This obviously isn't the Edge he knows, but it's hard to separate the two when they look so similar. For all Sans knows, this is some really fucked up dream that he's going to wake up from and never be able to properly scrub from his memory.

"Fantastic, you're introduced... now then!" Papyrus claps his hands together once, drawing an identical wince from Sans and Edge Jr.. His usual smile is back in place, if not a little pointed when he looks at Sans. "Dinner is almost ready. I've invited Red and Edge over for... obvious reasons." He pops right back into the kitchen, leaving both Sans and their new guest to stew in awkward silence.

Sans would probably try to avoid this situation by slipping into his room if he was any less experienced with this exact brand of bullshit. Well, maybe not _this_ exact brand, but it was close enough that Sans could manage to try and shut up his stupid brain for long enough to deal. He crosses over to the arm chair that's perpendicular to the couch and sits himself down heavily. Edge Jr. politely doesn't say anything about the way Sans skirted around the edge of the room to do so, like the kid had some sort of deadly disease that only affects depressed bags of bones.

They sit for a few more minutes without speaking until Edge Jr. surprises Sans. "I didn't roll around in mud." He says, almost too quietly for Sans to hear, clipped and curt. He looks up with raised brow ridges. Edge Jr. sniffs indignantly, in that way that Edge does when Sans breaks out the REALLY bad jokes. "I tripped."

The tone and the expression on the kid's face triggers something close to amusement in Sans' and calms him to the point where he closes his eye sockets for a second to huff out a few chuckles. _This shit is so messed up_. Sans really isn't equipped to handle more than one set of broken, edgy bastards, but here he is. Maybe Sans' lack of survival instinct is kicking in or it's that he's grown too fond of those edgy bastards when he cracks his eye sockets open to look over at the kid and give a lazy wink. "That's okay, I've got a love-hate thing going with gravity, too."

Edge Jr.'s nasal ridge scrunches up and a small burst of angry vermilion covers his cheekbones. "I don't -!" He huffs, but quickly stops himself to instead stare down at the cloth in his arms. Now that Sans' danger-reflex is gone, he's finally curious enough to study the kid properly. His clothes, if they can still be called that, have seen better days. They're worn to the point where what fabric hasn't been worn through is see-through. The only thing that keeps Edge Jr.'s bones from showing through is the frankly ridiculous amount of dirt and mud that's coating the rags.

Strangely, the fabric that the kid's holding doesn't show signs of as much wear. It's relatively clean, too. Edge Jr. clutches it closely and securely to his chest, possessive and protective. He looks so beaten down that Sans' heart would be broken if he had one. For right now he can manage an impressive amount of pity, though. The kid looks more worse for wear than when Edge and Red had first showed up, covered in dust and reeking of LV. Thankfully, at least this kid isn't drenched in the evidence of whatever Hell he came from.

That is, if you don't count the mud.

"What's, uh, what's that you got there?" Sans asks lightly. He doesn't want to accidentally set the kid off, the scamp's already wound up as it is.

Edge Jr. shifts uncomfortably in his seat. He looks away, the barest amount of hesitance and vulnerability showing through his expression. Sans feels his soul drop in his rib cage. Instant regret fills his chest, _shouldn't have asked, should have just shut his big useless mouth_ \- 

"My brother, Sans." The kid tilts the bundle towards Sans so he can see. For a split second, Sans feels like his entire being was dunked into an icy river. If this version of Edge is around twelve or thirteen, then Red should at least be a young adult by now. _Should_. Sans closes his eye sockets and sucks in a harsh breath through his teeth. He's afraid of what he'll see in that bundle.

A pile of dust? The last scraps of clothing that a kid could gather from his brother's remains? Or maybe he's got Red's golden tooth in there, cleaned up and shined like a prized possession. The last memories of what had once been a whole monster, rough and crass and fierce and loyal and wild all at once.

It's unexpectedly nauseating for Sans to consider a world where Red is gone. Where he was snuffed out, reduced to nothing more than a chalky pile of dust for his brother to try and scoop up as well he could and carry around with him. "K-Kid..." Sans stutters, eye sockets still shut. He doesn't know what to say. Doesn't know how to make himself stop falling into a pit of thoughts that really aren't all that helpful right now - 

Sans can hear as the front door is thrown open. "Goddamn, I'm hungry." Red calls out flippantly. Sans can recognize the sets of footsteps that follow into the house, Red's clunky and confident heavy footing with Edge's lighter, polite steps.

"A faulty traffic light held us up, unfortunately..." Edge follows up. The audible click of his jaw can almost be heard as Sans assumes he finally sees Sans and Papyrus' newest guest. The sharp inhale of breath Red draws in is just as loud. Sans snaps his sockets wide open to stare at Edge and Red as they stand dumbfounded in the entryway. Sans could almost laugh in hysteria at what was surely the expression he had not even ten minutes ago. He's too busy being frozen at the sudden burst of icy magic coming from the couch on his right.

Sans zips his gaze over to where Edge Jr. now sits stiffly. The bundle is pulled back up to his rib cage as the kid takes in what must surely be the shock of his life. A taller, healthier, older version of himself and his brother. There's a slight crackle of static in the air, a red sort of mist that gathers and bunches up near the kid's skull as magical attacks in the form of wicked sharp bones. He's helpless to watch as they fly across the room, headed straight for the edgy pair of brothers in Sans' living room.

Edge and Red have no problem deflecting with constructs of their own, and Edge has no problem with advancing further into the room to face their attacker. Red hangs back, his eye lights flickering between Edge and Edge Jr. looking severely confused and conflicted. Sans can see the way his phalanges twitch and his knees shake in the barest of movements.

He feels stuck in place, like when he'd first seen the kid. But now it was out of fear. The crackle of aggressive magic from not only one, but two sources, was rendering his brain as little more than mush and panic. Sans can't really tell what's happening in the haze of panic that grips his soul, but he knows that Edge and Edge Jr. are doing a lot more summoning of weapons than talking. Sans is confident that Edge wouldn't hurt a kid, especially one that shares his face, but he also knows that monsters can do a whole lot of unreasonable things when they're backed into a corner like Edge Jr. is right now.

At some point, Papyrus enters the fray and seems to calm the both of them down. Not too long after, Red stumbles forward like he was pushed and staggers to stand by Edge, who grips his brother by the shoulder in a tight hold. Sans sees this happen, but he can't pull himself from whatever plane of existence he's on right now. It's like he's watching his body from the outside, like he has no control. Not even the _good_ type of no-control where Red or Edge is right there with him, grinning or telling him some stupid shit that he can't even refute because his ability to speak left at around the same time they'd gotten their claws on him - and even that type of no-control was scary in it's own way -

This was terrifying.

Sans' sense of sight gives out for what could have been minutes or hours, but when he comes to, he's been moved to the couch. He's being held, the warm arms around him are familiar and comforting. Sans relaxes into Papyrus.

He blinks a few times and it seems like his vision comes back online all at once like one of Red's creepy spy cameras. He feels like he can breathe again, even though it isn't a strictly necessary function for skeleton monsters. On the armchair Sans had previously occupied was Edge Jr., looking grumpy and holding that bundle as tight as ever to his rib cage. Sans gulps and looks away, to where Red and Edge stand in front of the coffee table. Red is staring at Edge Jr. while Edge stares at Sans like some sort of weirdo, an almost identical look of grumpiness on his skull.

For some fucked up reason, it's enough for Sans to crack a tired grin.

"I don't see why you're smiling." Edge tells Sans sternly. Or, well, the edgelord goes for something stern, but he just sounds concerned. The familiar tone and words relax Sans even further. "This situation leaves a lot to be desired." He finishes.

Sans is almost surprised when Papyrus speaks up, the words rumbling through his rib cage where Sans is leaning. "I agree." He says, "But I think we should eat before we do any sort of explaining. The spaghetti will go cold."

Sans huffs out a disbelieving laugh - _leave it to Paps_.... Far from mocking or annoyed, Sans admires his brother's ability to keep calm, even in a fucked up situation like this.

"Can I..." Every socket turns to Edge Jr. as the kid speaks up, which causes him to clam up and shut his jaw with a clicking noise. The kid clenches his jaw and looks away from the prying stares for a few moments while he gathers himself. He clears his throat, sounding so much like when Edge is embarrassed. "Can I have some milk for my brother?"

Sans cringes, his eye lights flicking down to the bundle in the kid's arms.

... Then flinches when the bundle moves. _What the Hell_?

"Of course!" Papyrus assures. Sans gives his brother a strange look, not sure what's going on. Both Edge and Red have similar expressions. "Baby Sans surely needs something nutritious for his little bones!"

It's Sans' turn to have his jaw drop as he looks back at where Edge Jr. has peeled the cloth away from what he's been holding this entire time.

"Hooooooly shit." Red curses in disbelief. Sans can hear Edge lightly slap the back of his brother's skull as a warning for his language, but Sans pays it no mind.

In the kid's arms is a tiny skeleton with a round skull and huge sockets. His little hands come to grasp at Edge Jr.'s arms as he looks around the room. Tiny, tiny little fangs part in the smallest yawn Sans has ever seen.

It's a baby Red.

**Author's Note:**

> hnnnn i love found family, okay??
> 
> and i also happen to love the attl series. this is what you get when you quarantine me and give me feelings, okay????????
> 
> leave a comment if you liked this or wanna chat! :D
> 
> my tumblr is [right here](https://beanniebenn.tumblr.com/)


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